Every year, natural events, such as earthquakes, floods, storms, heatwaves and droughts cause huge humanitarian and economic damage around the world. Although we are now better able to identify and respond to such natural disasters, in many cases lack of knowledge and poor planning, resourcing and deployment of relief systems can create problems for both the local and global community. This report examines the three key aspects of disaster response and the need for engineers to be at the heart of efforts to reduce the impact of these events, from initial humanitarian aid through to building resilience for the future.

This report has been produced in the context of the Institution’s strategic themes of Energy, Environment, Education, Manufacturing and Transport, and its vision of ‘Improving the world through engineering.’

ACT (The Adaptation to Climate Change Team) brings leading experts from around the world together with industry, community, and government decision-makers to explore the risks posed by top-of-mind climate change issues and to identify opportunities for sustainable adaptation.